Bleacher Report - Articles by Chad Haynie

Alabama Looks To Continue Hot Streak In SEC Tournament

Chad Haynie — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:31:35 -0400

ALABAMA (17-13, 7-9 SEC) vs. VANDERBILT (19-11, 8-8 SEC)
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. (CDT)
TV: Raycom Sports (Free Live Online Video Stream)

It's March and the Alabama Crimson Tide are playing better basketball than they have all year. That is not something Alabama has been able to say the last several seasons.

The Tide ride into Tampa winning four of their last five and fresh off of a thrilling buzzer-beater-victory over the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville.

Alabama will be playing Vanderbilt for the chance to face their common rival, Tennessee in a quarter-final match up in the SEC tournament. Both teams must win the conference tournament for an invite to the NCAA tournament.

The last time the Crimson Tide hit the hardwood to take on Vandy, they fell late 79-74, despite leading most of the game.

2003 was the last season that Alabama came into the SEC tournament as the No. 4 West seed and interestingly enough, faced the Commodores in a 82-69 loss.

A win by the Tide would put the team, in all likelihood, just one win away from an NIT bid. While Vanderbilt would more than likely seal a bid to the NIT with a victory over Alabama.

Overall Alabama is 56-42 in SEC tournament play. The 56 conference tournament wins rank second in the SEC only behind Kentucky. The Tide are 3-5 against Vanderbilt in SEC tournament games.

Alabama Falls In Heart Breaker To Auburn

Chad Haynie — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 03:21:11 -0500

Despite a 10-point lead at halftime the Alabama Crimson Tide (16-13, 6-9 SEC) fell to the Auburn Tigers (20-10, 9-6 SEC) 77-73 Tuesday evening at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa.

While the Tide lead for the majority of the game, a second half run by Auburn and poor execution by Alabama at the charity stripe would put the Tigers up for good around the 6:30 mark in the second half.

A three-point basket by Andrew Steele pulled the game to a 73-73 tie with 1:10 left in the game, however the Tigers would pull away with two lay-ups by Korvotney Barber and Frankie Sullivan while the Tide failed to score in the final minute.

With the victory in Tuscaloosa, Auburn clinches the No. 2 SEC West seed in the SEC tournament next week in Tampa. The Tigers also take a step closer to securing a NCAA tournament bid. A win over No. 12 ranked LSU this Saturday could seal the deal for the Tigers making a rare NCAA tournament appearance.

While many criticize Auburn's week out of conference schedule, including a home loss to Mercer, their performance in their last 10 games and 10 conference wins make Auburn a strong candidate for the Big Dance.

While Alabama was not on the NCAA radar, they were looking to make an impression for a possible bid in the NIT. The Crimson Tide also still had hopes of grabbing the No. 2 SEC West seed, which would have given the Tide a bye in the first round of the conference tournament. Alabama still has a chance at the No. 3 SEC West seed if Mississippi State drops their last two games and Alabama is able to upset Tennessee in Knoxville Saturday morning.

Both teams will finish out their regular season Saturday. Auburn will take on LSU at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum down on the plains, while Alabama will face off against Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.

The Alabama-Tennessee game will be another nationally televised game on CBS, tip off scheduled for 11:00 a.m. CST.

Alabama's A-Day Spring Game To Be Broadcast Live on ESPN

Chad Haynie — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:13:36 -0500

Now that the world is spinning on its correct axial—and by that I mean the ODK-Foy Sportsmanship Trophy is back in its rightful home in Tuscaloosa—fans are counting down the days until the annual A-Day spring football game. (There are just 45 more in case you lost count!)

Fans got another small perk Tuesday, when ESPN announced that they will be televising the game live to a national audience.

Alabama will be the third SEC school to have their spring game aired on ESPN, with Florida's spring game being broadcast live last year, and Georgia's "G-Day" game scheduled to air the week before Alabama's game.

At this time, it is not clear whether or not the College GameDay crew will be in Tuscaloosa or Athens this year, or if Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstreit will even partake in spring football this year.

Over the last two years, Alabama has had 170,338 fans watch the glorified spring practice in person at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Alabama set a college football record in the spring of 2007 when a capacity crowd of 92,138 watched Nick Saban's first A-Day at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Last year, the Tide still led the SEC with a crowd of 78,200 and was the second-largest in the country—a few thousand behind Nebraska.

Saban's Crimson Tide made 10 national television appearances last season, which was tied for the most in the country. Alabama also made more appearances on ESPN's College GameDay show than any other team any the nation, being showcased four times on the nations premiere college football pre-game show (Clemson, Georgia, LSU, SEC Championship).

The Tide will start spring practice on Friday, March 13 and will then take the next week off for spring break and reconvene on March 23.

Energized Tide Looks To Make Noise at Season's End

Chad Haynie — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:50:11 -0500

Coming off two consecutive wins, the Alabama Crimson Tide (15-12, 5-8 SEC) could be putting themselves in a position to make it back to postseason play after missing out on the NCAA and the NIT tournaments in 2007.

With the leadership of Senior Alonzo Gee, the Tide have put a much improved product on the floor their last two times out—something definitely reflected in the results. A thrilling double overtime victory over rival Mississippi State and a dominating 21-point win over Arkansas showed the Tide at their best.

The Tide looked as impressive as a Top 10 team during the first half of the Arkansas game, putting up 49 points while holding the Hogs to just 23 points. Alabama would go on to win 88-67, with the Tide leading by 30 for most of the second half.

This new and improved Alabama squad, led by interim head coach Philip Pearson, heads to Oxford, Mississippi on Saturday to try to collect their third straight win and first conference road win in nearly two years when they take on Ole Miss (15-12, 6-7 SEC).

If history is any indication though, a win at the "Tad Pad" will not come easily for the Tide. Alabama was 1-9 under Mark Gottfried at the Tad Smith Coliseum in Oxford.

However, if the Tide can pull out a rare win in Oxford, finishing the season with a .500 SEC record would become much more realistic.

After the trip to Oxford, Alabama finishes the season with two nationally televised games. The Tide faces Auburn in Tuscaloosa next Tuesday on ESPN and then travels to Knoxville to play Tennessee on CBS a week from Saturday.

If the Crimson Tide can win their final three games, they will be a prime candidate for the NIT. For those Bama fans that started dreaming about the NCAA tournament during the Tide's dismantling of Arkansas, the only real chance Alabama has of making the big dance is winning the SEC Tournament in Tampa.

While the Tide has been through a lot of adversity this season, if they continue their improved play, they will make some noise in these last few weeks.

Griffey Drama Continues To Highten

Chad Haynie — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:07:38 -0500

It is Wednesday night and still no word on where Ken Griffey, Jr. will play this season. Conventional wisdom seems to point towards a signing with the Atlanta Braves, but every second Griffey isn't inked by the Braves seems like a second closer he'll be to heading back to Seattle where the legendary player started his career.

Multiple media reports indicated Monday that Griffey would make a decision by the days end. The day ended and there was still no decision. Then the same sources reported that he would pick a team early Tuesday and possibly report Wednesday for the first day of full team workouts.

Around noon on Tuesday the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a source close to Griffey confirmed he had chosen to play for the Braves and contract negotiations were underway. Later that day Griffey and his agent made a point to make it known that the story was not accurate and he had not made a decision. Griffey himself said that he planned to make an announcement Wednesday, but as we approach 8:00 pm on the East Coast, there is still no word from Orlando. Just silence.

While most of major league baseball has been focused on Alex Rodriguez and his steroid saga, fans of the Braves and Mariners could not care less. The building drama around a 39-year-old left fielder, who only hit .245 last season, has been much too tense for fans of the two sub-.500 2008 teams to focus on a poor acting job in Tampa.

Even if ESPN were to report on the story, which for some reason they have no interest what so ever in, it seems now that there might not be anything to report for some while. While those of use who would like to move on from the steroids topic (which from polls, seems to be the majority of Americans) would like to know where the future Hall of Famer will land in the next day, it is starting to seem like the most sure thing we know is that we won't know anything for a while.

While it is understandable that this is Griffey's first go around as a free agent, his multiple delays in announcement are growing quite annoying to both fan bases and the media covering the unnecessary drama. No answer on Monday was no surprise, it was understandable to want a night to sleep on it Tuesday, but to openly tell front offices, media and fans who are anxiously awaiting a decision one way or another that you will announce a decision on Wednesday only to stay completely silent the entire day, is just not right.

At this pace there is honestly not a known end in site. Junior could announce tonight that he will be at Braves camp on Thursday or he could announce next week that he'll rejoin the club he broke through with in 1989. At this point it is anyone's guess. Conventional wisdom still points towards the Braves, but it also said this deal was done yesterday.

We still await your answer Mr. Griffey, what ever it is, we will all be glad for this to be over.

UPDATE: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports is reporting that Ken Griffey Jr. has signed a one year deal with the Seattle Mariners in a surprising turn of events. As this article is proof though, nothing is done until we see an official announcement.

Five Best Fits for Alabama's New Basketball Coach

Chad Haynie — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:16:26 -0500

With the resignation of Alabama coach Mark Gottfried, the head job of the Crimson Tide has risen to the most desirable job currently on the market. While many younger candidates will naturally be interested in the job, we'll point out the top five most likely candidates to end up as the next head man in Tuscalossa. (as far as basketball is concerned at least)

Begin Slideshow

Alabama-Miss. State: Croom Seeks Third Straight Win in "Battle for Highway 82"

Chad Haynie — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:15:25 -0500

Sylvester Croom will load up his Mississippi State Bulldogs this weekend and make the 88-mile bus ride straight to Tuscaloosa on old U.S. 82.

The Bulldogs have won two straight over the Tide in what many Alabama students have come to call "The Battle of Highway 82," which runs through both schools' campuses.

The series has been one of the most lopsided in the Southeastern Conference despite being one of the longest running. In 93 games since the first in 1896, Alabama has won 72 of those matches, the most wins any team has against Mississippi State.

As of late, though, the series has not been so dominant. Sylvester Croom mustered up a win in 2006, the last time the Bulldogs visited Bryant-Denny Stadium, which led to the firing of Mike Shula.

Last year MSU came up with a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown at the end of the first half. The Crimson Tide never recovered mentally, and Mississippi State pulled out a 17-12 victory in Starkville.

Add on to all of this the fact that Alabama has not scored a touchdown on Mississippi State since 2005. All 12 points from last year came on Leigh Tiffin field goals.

This year things are a bit different though. Alabama is unbelievably ranked No. 1 in the nation, and the Tide has the Florida Gators waiting for them in Atlanta in what is starting to look like a play-in game for the National Championship.

MSU, on the other hand, has had a rather disappointing season after last year's success. Two one-point losses to SEC opponents have really put a damper on the team's 3-6 season.

Will Nick Saban have his top-ranked Tide focused in on "the process," or will Sylvester Croom catch Alabama looking ahead to the Gators?

We will find out on Saturday, but one thing is for sure...there will be a lot of people driving west on Highway 82 late Saturday night. They'll either have a sweet 88-mile victory drive or a good hour to soak in another loss in what has become an embarrassing season.

Mississippi State at Alabama is scheduled to kick off at 6:45pm Saturday night. The game will be televised by ESPN.

Alabama-Kentucky to Air on CBS

Chad Haynie — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 08:19:40 -0400

The SEC office announced today that CBS Sports will televise the October 4 matchup between Alabama and Kentucky from Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, AL at 2:30 P.M., CDT.

Both teams are currently undefeated. Kentucky will take on Western Kentucky, a team Alabama beat 41-7 two weeks ago, this week. Alabama will face the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs in Athens.

Alabama is currently ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press poll and No. 10 in the USA Today Coaches' poll. Kentucky is currently unranked in both polls, although they have received votes in each.

The last time Alabama and Kentucky met on the gridiron was 2004 in Lexington, a game the Crimson Tide won 45-17.

Alabama has dominated the series, holding a 33-2-1 lead over the Wildcats.

The State of Alabama Football: Is 'BAMA Really Back?

Chad Haynie — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:00:37 -0400

Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide will roll into Fayetteville this Saturday with its first top 10 ranking since 2005.

The Tide, riding a four-game win streak, has shown an ability to finish games and crush a lesser opponent, two important aspects that plagued the team’s 2007 campaign.

In the season opener against Clemson, the Tide’s young, but talented front seven proved they could stop even the best of running backs. The front seven has continued to prove they can dominate and are now tagged as the best rushing defense in the country, holding its opponents to an amazing 42.6 yards a game.

Although they can’t call themselves the best in the country, the ‘Bama secondary isn’t playing too bad themselves. They are only allowing 4.87 yards per attempt, good enough for fourth in the conference.

Overall, the Alabama defense has been quite impressive, only giving up one touchdown on the year.

While the Alabama offense hasn’t been quite as good as the guys on the other side of the ball, they are still sixth in the SEC in total offense. The ‘Bama backfield, led by Glen Coffee and Mark Ingram, are fourth in the conference, averaging 206 rushing yards per game.

Making the holes for the running game is one of the best offensive lines in the nation. (Sorry, no statistics to back that up). Anchored by junior Andre Smith and senior Antoine Caldwell, the Alabama O-line has had a solid season thus far.

With only a few exceptions, the line has given quarterback John Park Wilson time to make plays and has helped Alabama’s stable of running backs rack up yards. To be frank, the big boys up front have dominated the line this year.

The Crimson Tide has looked sharp overall in their first three games. A strange Tulane game raised some questions that maybe the team was heading back to its ways of 2007, playing up to better opponents and down to lesser ones.

However, the Tide came out last Saturday and proved they can dominate a lesser opponent for a full 60 minutes, beating Western Kentucky 41-7.

Now the Tide will open conference play this Saturday with a very winnable game at Arkansas. Then they will head to Athens to take on the third-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, after which they will return to Bryant-Denny Stadium to take on Kentucky.

The UK game is followed by a bye week which will mark the end of the first half of the season. In the second half of the season, the Crimson Tide will face Ole Miss in Tuscaloosa; Tennessee and LSU on the road; and Homecoming (Arkansas State) sandwiched in between. After LSU, the Tide go back to Tuscaloosa to play Mississippi State and then a bye week before the Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny.

Alabama has the potential to be as good as anyone in the conference.

Are they young? Yes.

Do they have depth? Somewhat.

This is a team that can achieve anything, though. If the Tide can catch a break or two and stay healthy in key positions, this team may just win the SEC West.

If that happens, they would only be 60 minutes away from their first SEC championship in nine years. As we all know, anything can happen in those 60 minutes.

The Tide has started strong, but as Coach Saban will tell you, if they don’t finish, the strong start will mean nothing.

One thing is for sure, though. Even if Alabama doesn't win the West this year, they will not be going anywhere in the near future.

SEC TV: The Future of Southeastern Conference Television Coverage

Chad Haynie — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:56:19 -0400

Ever since the Big Ten Conference announced the launch of its own television network, there has been much speculation as to whether or not the Southeastern Conference would follow suit with a network solely dedicated to conference schools and athletics.

The SEC receives more money from their football and basketball television contracts than any other athletic conference in the country. The conference earned $63.6 million in the 2007 fiscal year for their football and basketball contracts. Football was the key financier, earning $50.6 of the $63.6 million.

The conference's television contracts will expire at the end of the 2008 fiscal year. That leaves all of us wondering where we will be watching SEC sports in the future.

Currently the conference holds three separate deals for their football coverage. CBS has first rights to week-to-week picks. They have a few weekends in which they also have rights to air a doubleheader. The CBS deal is also an exclusive contract in that the SEC is the only conference CBS will air football games of.

The second contract is with ESPN. They receive rights to air a conference game each week after CBS's pick. They also receive a very limited number of games which they can select before the season, without having to wait for CBS to make their weekly pick. ESPN also receives the rights to any games after Raycom's pick (fourth and beyond) if they wish to.

The third contract is a syndication deal with Raycom Sports. Raycom receives the rights to air a conference game each week, after CBS and ESPN make their first and second choices.

Of course, there are numerous minor details that would take days for many of us to understand, but in a nutshell that is how the SEC's football television contract works out.

All three networks have interest in renewing their contracts with the conference and made presentations to Commissioner Mike Slive and all the university athletic directors and presidents. The conference, though, may have some different ideas.

There have been some reports that FOX has a lot of interest in taking over the exclusive major network contract that CBS currently holds. This seems fairly unlikely due to the rather poor college football coverage that FOX has and the longtime partnership in between CBS and the SEC. It would probably take a monumental bid from FOX to pull the contract away from CBS.

ESPN in all likelihood will keep their current contract, although it has been reported that they have interest in also acquiring the third week-to-week pick that Raycom Sports has the rights to.

After CBS and ESPN, things get much more interesting. Raycom also wants to extend its contract, but the conference has been considering launching its own television network. If it did, the games that Raycom currently air would be shown on the conference network.

There could also be competitors for Raycom, such as Fox Sports Net or CBS College Sports Network (CSTV), to take over the lower-tier conference games.

As another Bleacher Report article explained a few weeks ago, there are some big pros and cons to an SEC network. We will not know whether or not the conference is starting a network for months.

While we don't know for sure what channels we will be watching SEC sports on in the future, we do know they will be all over television, and the conference will still be making a ton of money.

SEC TV will continue to bring in millions, whether it is through a conference network and a few major network contracts, or a plethora of different major network and syndication contracts.

Alabama Football: Saban Dismisses Linebacker After Arrest

Chad Haynie — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:10:37 -0400

Tuesday afternoon Alabama Head Football Coach Nick Saban dismissed linebacker (and former running back) Jimmy Johns from the Crimson Tide football program after Johns was arrested around 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

Johns was charged on multiple counts of possession and distribution of powder cocaine.

"This type of behavior obviously will not be tolerated and he is no longer a part of our program," Saban said in a statement.

Capt. Jeff Snyder of the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force indicated that the findings of the investigation into Johns' narcotics, did not find any other Crimson Tide athletes to be involved in the drug dealing.

Johns who had struggled to find a way to contribute to the team throughout his career at Alabama, was in the process of transitioning from running back to linebacker. He had completed spring drills at both weak and strong side positions.

Johns was one of Mike Shula's more notable recruits, earning Mr. Football honors in Mississippi in 2004. He was ranked the No. 3 recruit making The Clarion-Ledger's Top Ten Most Wanted recruits list. He also made The Mobile Press Register's Super Southeast Top 120 list.

However, his success from the high school fields of Mississippi never translated into success in the Southeastern Conference. Johns struggled to get playing time at running back under Shula, compiling 495 yards in 2005 and 2006 with only one touchdown. Johns never saw playing time at running back under Nick Saban in the regular season, contributing solely to the special teams unit.

The arrest and departure of Johns leaves the already questionable linebacker corps in even more doubt. The situation will at least free up one more scholarship spot for Saban's recruiting class, this though, was probably not how Saban wanted the spot to open up.

Alabama will start fall practice on July 31 and kickoff the season on August 30 against the Clemson Tigers at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The game will be nationally televised by ABC Sports and will air at 8:00 p.m. EST.

For more news on this developing story stay tuned to Bleacher Report's coverage of Alabama Football.

Alabama Football: Saban Dismisses Linebacker After Arrest

Chad Haynie — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:56:08 -0400

Johns was charged on multiple counts of possession and distribution of powder cocaine.

"This type of behavior obviously will not be tolerated and he is no longer a part of our program," Saban said in a statement.

Capt. Jeff Snyder of the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force indicated that the findings of the investigation into Johns' narcotics did not find any other Crimson Tide athletes involved in the drug dealing.

Johns, who had struggled to find a way to contribute to the team throughout his career at Alabama, was in the process of transitioning from running back to linebacker. He had completed spring drills at both weak and strong side positions.

Johns was one of Mike Shula's more notable recruits, earning Mr. Football honors in Mississippi in 2004. He was ranked the No. 3 recruit, making The Clarion-Ledger's Top Ten Most Wanted recruits list. He also made The Mobile Press Register's Super Southeast Top 120 list.

Johns never saw playing time at running back under Nick Saban in the regular season, contributing solely to the special teams unit.

The arrest and departure of Johns leaves the already questionable linebacker corps in even more doubt. The situation will at least free up one more scholarship spot for Saban's recruiting class, this though is probably not how Saban was imagining the spot opening up.

Alabama will start fall practice on July 31 and kick off the season against the Clemson Tigers at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The game will be nationally televised by ABC Sports and will air at 8:00 p.m. EST.

For more news on this developing story stay tuned to Bleacher Report's coverage of Alabama Football.

Atlanta Braves Sweep New York Mets: Who's Next?

Chad Haynie — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:41:18 -0400

On Thursday night, the Atlanta Braves completed a four-game sweep of the New York Mets. This kept the Braves in second place in the NL East, just a game-and-a-half back from the Florida Marlins, with the Philadelphia Phillies right beside them.

The Braves are one of the hottest teams in baseball, heading into a four-game series with the NL West division leading Arizona Diamondbacks, who were just swept by the Marlins in Miami.

There is one question on the mind of most baseball fans, however. Can the Braves keep their momentum going?

They will open up the series with the D'backs by facing the feel-good story of the week, Diamondback pitcher Doug Davis getting his first start back from the DL after being said to be "cancer free".

The Braves will look to keep their hot bats going and hand Davis his second loss of the season. Braves youngster Jo-Jo Reyes will go head-to-head with Davis in game one.

The other match ups for the weekend wrap-around series will be:

If the Braves can keep their hot bats going, the time couldn't be better to try and beat up on the Diamondbacks, while they are still in shock after being swept in Miami.

Braves-Mets: Atlanta Looks to Complete Sweep of New York

Chad Haynie — Wed, 21 May 2008 21:13:10 -0400

Tonigh,t the Atlanta Braves will go for what most thought improbable two days ago—a sweep of the New York Mets at Turner Field.

The Braves have dominated the Mets the last two days with stunning starting pitching and overpowering run production. The Braves have outscored the not-so-amazin' Mets 23 to seven. Braves' starters combined ERA in the series have been under one, while the Mets' have been over nine.

The series has also contained it's share of storylines. Both teams have seen hot players (Church and Escobar) go to the bench after an unnecessary collision. Tom Glavine made most his former teammates look like little leaguers when he sat down the last 17 Mets he faced, only allowing one run on three hits (all coming in the first inning) on Tuesday.

Jorge Campillo, in his first major league start since 2005, made quick work of the Mets, striking out seven and only allowing three hits, during six innings of shutout work.

Both coaches have became more vocal than usual during the series. Willie Randolph's frustrations with the team's TV coverage portraying him in a negative light were highly publicized. And Bobby Cox expressed displeasure with what he called Ryan Church's "dirty slide" at the end of the second game on Tuesday. The play injured both Church and Braves shortstop/leadoff hitter Yunel Escobar—neither of which were in the line up Wednesday, nor expected to play Thursday evening.

The Braves and Mets are no strangers to dramatic baseball, but the way this series has gone, Thursday night's match up of Johan Santana and Tim Hudson should be an interesting way to end the series, to say the least.

At the time in the season when the top teams start to separate themselves from the rest of the pack, every game counts—especially the ones against your division rivals.

Even though the Mets came into Atlanta fresh off a sweep over the Yankees in the Bronx, they have been unable to produce in The Ted this week. They dropped a series to the Nationals last week in Shea and now regardless of what happens tonight, will drop another series against the Braves and still must face the division leading Marlins in Shea next week.

It is no secret they need to turn it around if they want to be in the playoff race come September. If the Mets do not start winning division games they will fall out of things quickly. And the seat will only get hotter for Willie Randolph.

The Braves are a game and a half back from the division lead and need every win they can get at home, while they continue to struggle on the road. They will also host the D'Backs for four games after they finish up with the Mets, so a win is definitely still a need for Atlanta.

GAME PREVIEW:

Johan Santana (5-2 - 3.30 ERA) vs. Tim Hudson (6-3 - 3.06).
Braves will likely go without Shortstop Yunel Escobar and Mets will likely go with out right fielder Ryan Church, both of whom were injured in the game ending colision Tuesday night. Chipper Jones who leads the league in hitting, left Wednesday nights game after being hit by a pitch square on the shin. Chipper said he expects to play Thursday.

Keys to Victory for the Mets:

Santana must get ahead in the count and not let the Braves work his pitch count like they have in the first three games of the series. The more innings he can produce the better.
The Mets bats have to score runs. As stated earlier, they have been out scored 23 to seven. They will have to push across every possible run with Hudson toeing the rubber.

Keys to Victory for the Braves:

Work Santana's pitch count high early and get to the already stressed Mets Bullpen as quick as possible.
Get runners on base for Chipper, Teixeira, McCain and Francoeur to continue their hot bats.

One thing is for sure. If you are in the Atlanta area tonight, forget about Indiana Jones and come to Turner Field to watch two of the games best slug it out for the oh-so-important positioning in the highly competitive NL East.

Atlanta Braves: Home Sweet Home...But What About the Road?

Chad Haynie — Fri, 16 May 2008 21:02:51 -0400

This season, the Atlanta Braves have been a tale of two teams. One dominant and the other, well, pathetic.

All throughout the history of sports, there has been a sort of team "bipolarism," where for instance one team will take on two very different persona's and you never really know which will show up at game time.

Sometimes this is brought on by a star player or team leader not being on the field or even for a number of baseball teams playing great against a righty or lefty and struggling with the other.

However, this year the Atlanta Braves have stumbled upon a bad case of "sports bipolarism." They are the best team in baseball when playing at home and the worst while playing on the road.

It has been quite baffling and is starting to become one of more talked about stories in baseball.

It is not uncommon for a team to do better at home than on the road. In fact, there are only six teams in the American League and just four in the National League with losing records at home.

However, home field advantage in major league baseball has never been fully comprehended. Football, hockey, and soccer (internationally speaking) all usually play in front of very intense crowds and a number of very intimidating venues.

This is hardly the case in baseball. Only a handful of stadiums are ever at capacity and even fewer have a true hostile environment.

Sure, the players may be a little more familiar with their field, the lighting set up, where the fences are etc., but it is very hard to pinpoint what makes a baseball team have a distinct advantage over another simply because of location.

For the Braves it has not just been a slight advantage this year. They are literally the best team in baseball while playing at home. 15-4 at "The Ted" in Atlanta, that's a .789 winning percentage.

They always seem to find a way to win while playing in the friendly confines of Turner Field. Tonight the Braves, who just returned from a 2-5 beating tour of Pennsylvania, only had three hits going into the sixth trailing 2-0.

They scrapped up two to tie it and then later on in the eighth, Mark Kotsay pushed across what became the winning run.

It was nothing spectacular, but why when in similar situations on the road, have they failed to produce?

Wednesday night in Philadelphia the Braves, down two in the ninth, scored one and then had two men on with Mr. Clutch, Jeff Francoeur at the plate only to see lazy fly ball caught at the last second to end the game.

That is the way the entire season has went for the Braves. Always finding ways to win while in Atlanta and always finding ways to blow the game or let it slip away while on the road.

That same team with the league best .789 winning percentage at home are just 6-16 on the road. A .272 winning percentage. It is truly baffling.

Yes, the Braves have suffered a number of injuries this season, but they don't seem to be playing much better or worse with out the regulars.

They have also had struggles winning in one-run-games. However, those struggles are not nearly as bad while at the Ted.

Maybe the players really like sleeping in their own beds and spending time with their family (although many players do not live in Atlanta). Maybe they love playing in the Atlanta heat.

Maybe they like seeing themselves on major league baseball's largest HDTV in Turner Field. Or maybe they just love wearing white.

While I would love to think I have the answer, I can only raise questions, just like everyone else. Nothing explains this distinct difference of play in between games at Turner Field and away games. It just doesn't add up.

Even though the Braves are playing one of the wackiest seasons in recent memory, they are currently only two games out of first in the NL East.

If they continue with their current winning percentages, the Braves would end the season at 86-76. 49 more wins at home and 16 more on the road, if you really want to know.

That would more than likely put them at least a few games back from winning the division. So it is absolutely necessary for the Braves to begin to win more on the road if they want to make it back to the playoffs this year.

One thing is for sure. If you're a bettin' man, don't bet for the Braves while they're on the road. Don't bet against them in Atlanta, because as of now, there is no telling when the madness will stop.